Advertisement

No charges against US hacker

Alleged computer hacker Gary McKinnon had been living under the threat of extradition and prosecution in the US for more than 10 years before Home Secretary Theresa May blocked his removal on health grounds in October.

Police and CPS explain McKinnon decision

The Director of Public Prosecutions and the Assistant Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Service released a joint statement explaining their decision not to take further action against Gary McKinnon.

They identified a number of reasons why pursuing a prosecution would not be in the public interest:

Gary McKinnon was originally supposed to be tried in the US, in October 2012, when the Home Secretary decided not to extradite him, there was no live criminal investigation against him in the UK, nor had there been for many years

As far as building a case against McKinnon in the UK was concerned, "the harm occurred in the US", the investigation was launched in the US, most of the witnesses are in the US and nearly all the physical evidence is in the US

US authorities, though willing to co-operate with a prosecution, would not agree to transfer witnesses or evidence to the UK